Travelling The PCH To See The West Coast For 4 Weeks

Leaving from our home town in Toronto (Canada), the first stop was a short visit in Vancouver (Canada) where our son is going to university. From there we went by train to Seattle and then Portland before picking up a car to continue travelling the PCH. We stayed in small towns, small cities, large cities and in the outlying reaches of Los Angeles. The plan was to travel as far as San Diego and then head to Las Vegas for the 4th of July but we didn’t make Vegas this year.

It was a great, slow trip down one of the most scenic rides you can find anywhere. You can read each separate blog on the places we stopped:

The Amtrak train got us quickly from Vancouver to Seattle for a quick overnight stop. No visit to Seattle is complete without a few hours spent wandering around Pike Place enjoying the market and fresh fish. Of course we couldn’t miss our coffee stop at the very first Starbucks store!

Hopping a train we travelled to Portland. With only one night planned, we decided that what we wanted to do most on this trip was to pick up our car early and head up the Columbia River gorge. As the mist rose we headed up the gorge, stopping at the scenic waterfalls along the way.

From Portland, we beelined out to the ocean and began our Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) adventure. Ocean vistas presented rugged shores and our first attempt at whale watching at our stop in Yachats.

Our drive through Oregon and Northern California took us through some of the greatest redwood forests and parks.

We crossed into California and spent one more night on the coast at Eureka, enjoying the pounding surf and amazing seafood.

From there we headed inland for 2 nights in a charming B&B in Napa during a record hot spell for June. A small group wine tour provided us with a great wine education, lots of sampling and a box of wine (with only one bottle making it home as a special gift).

We spent 2 days mostly in the fog in San Francisco, starting to appreciate the “June Gloom”. Every day we would venture out for a clear picture of the infamous Golden Gate Bridge but the fog seemed to cling to the structure.

Once properly bundled up for cooler June days, it didn’t stop us from touring around San Fran and riding up and down on the cable cars.

No trip to San Fran would be complete without enjoying fresh seafood at Fisherman’s Wharf or without catching your first glimpse of sea lions lounging on the wharf.

Heading south from Monterey along the PCH you could see the wild waves of Big Sur. If you missed sea lions in Monterey or San Fran you could walk for miles and see elephant seals lounging on the beach at Seal Point.

A visit to the Hearst Castle is easily done from Carmel but be sure to book your ticket in advance and don’t plan to do the PCH both ways!!

Staying Outside of LA

We decided on this trip not to stay in LA itself but instead tried several places outside. The first stop was in Santa Barbara. We really liked this little town north of LA with it’s lively harbour and flat bikeable streets!

The second stop was within walking distance of the Santa Monica pier, allowing us to enjoy the beach and the pier entertainment. It was an easy bike ride to visit Venice Beach, hoping to catch some entertainment at Muscle Beach.

From here we could venture into Hollywood and other iconic LA tourist spots.

Our next stop at Newport Beach kept us on the beach. From here we could take the little ferry to Balboa Island.

Following the PCH south allowed us a day to crawl along Laguna Beach with the locals as they headed out for a Sunday beach day.

Our final stop was a quiet few days on Catalina Island. It was as beautiful as anticipated, both in the main Avalon port and the more isolated Two Harbours port.

A night tour provided a very close up view of the infamous flying fish!

We finished our trip with a longer resort stay just outside if San Diego. From here we could enjoy the resort pools, beach and water craft.

It was a short drive north to visit the beaches of La Jolla and have yet one more opportunity to see Sea Lions on the beach.

We wandered the downtown area of San Diego and spent hours enjoying the waterfront floating museum.

The trip out to Coronado Island provided us another view of San Diego.

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It was an amazingly scenic drive travelling the PCH for 4 weeks with great views of nature at every turn. We visited some of the most picturesque towns on the West Coast. The seafood was plentiful and fresh!

We can’t wait to go back!

What is your favourite part of travelling the PCH? Did we miss anything? What is the best month to travel to avoid “June Gloom”?

2 Comments

Such good advice to focus on Santa Barbara – urge mistake to just drive by – and places like Santa Monica.

I hope that you didn’t just drive Highway 101 through the redwood area between Oregon and the Wine Country and miss most of the best parts. If so go back! 🙂

In that area, absolute must dos are the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway and every portion of the Avenue of the Giants. The unique town of Arcata is well worth a stop. First Green Party government in the U.S. A special place.

We travelled right on Hwy 1 for most of the trip – hugging the coast and hanging on to the “holy shit” handles in the car 🙂 We detoured a few times for redwood viewing including the Avenue of the Giants. Santa Barbara had been recommended to us and we wish we had stayed longer. But even traveling down the west coast for 4 weeks, we missed a lot. Guess it means a trip back 🙂